title: Effect of pharmacy practice program on pharmacy student learning, satisfaction, and efficiency: assessment of introductory pharmacy practice course.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Lebanese American University (LAU) offers first-year pharmacy students with Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) courses comprising various activities that provide students with direct patient contact so that they can be geared up for "real-world" pharmacy practice. Routine assessment and improvement in these courses are imperative to ensure efficiency of these courses. This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of our IPPEs courses, determine its impact on student learning and satisfaction, and identify shortcomings in the program for quality improvement purposes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature review-based questionnaire, consisting of 76 questions with a response options following a 4-point scale (strongly agree = 4 to strongly disagree = 1), was completed by 92 first professional year pharmacy students who finished their hospital and community IPPE at LAU.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The students reported a high degree of satisfaction in community and hospital sites in terms of site selection, program schedule, site and school preceptors, and overall satisfaction with the experience. Compared to the hospital setting, students practicing in the community reported significantly higher scores in overall satisfaction. Besides the high satisfaction rate, our results identified improvement measures in some aspects of the program.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our IPPE program serves as a successful experiential learning for pharmacy students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, LAU, Byblos, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Abeer A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Zeitoun
authors.forename: Hiyam L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: El Zein
authors.forename: Maya M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Zeineddine
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D011231:Preceptorship; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011364:Professional Practice; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education; IPPE; Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience; community; hospital; pharmacy students; standards 2007